You directions in this lesson are vague. What will students do? When will they do it?
Title:
Moon phases
GLEs/GSEs:
National Science Education Standards
Teachers of science plan an inquiry-based science program for their students.
Teachers of science guide and facilitate learning.
Teachers of science engage in ongoing assessment of their teaching and of student learning.
Teachers of science design and manage learning environments that provide students with the time, space, and resources needed for learning science.
RI Middle School GSEs Earth and Space Science
ESS2: The earth is part of a solar system, made up of distinctive parts that have temporal and spatial interrelationships.
8- Systems and Energy/ Patterns of Change
Explain temporal or positional relationships between or among the Earth, sun, moon (e.g. night/day, seasons, year, tides) or how gravitational force affects objects in the solar system (e.g. moons, tides, orbits, satellites).
Students demonstrate an understanding of temporal or positional relationships between or among the Earth, sun, and moon by:
a) Using models to describe the relative motion/ position of the Earth, sun and moon.
b) Using a model of the Earth, sun and moon to recreate the phases of the moon.
Performance Standards for Science (Gathered from Grade 6 CCMS- Lynn Arcand)
Science Concepts:The student demonstrates conceptual understanding by using a concept accurately to explain observations and make predictions by representing the concept in multiple ways (through words, diagrams, graphs or charts, as appropriate). Both aspects of understanding -explaining and representing- are required to meet this standard.
Standard 3: Earth and Space Sciences Concepts:
S3c: Understanding of: Earth in the Solar System, such as the predictable motion of planets, moons and other objects in the Solar System including days, years, moon phases and eclipses.
Context for the Lesson:
The purpose of this lesson is to explain how the reflected light of the Sun on the Moon creates the different phases of the Moon. There will be a demonstration in class that will examine how a light source lights up one side of the earth and moon at all times. Depending upon where one positions themselves, they will get varying views of the moon and earth. The varying views will provide a vantage point where one will notice only part of the moon lit. The class will have to utilize their previous knowledge and apply it to this demonstration in order to comprehend the phase change process. I feel like it is a very difficult concept to grasp: how the moon's phases change. Since the moon orbits the earth once a day, and the earth orbits the sun there is a lot of movement involved. Add in the rotation of these objects and the concepts can become very difficult to understand. This is why I think that this concept will need and adequate foundation of relevant knowledge about the relationships of the earth, moon, and sun before examining could begin. A question arises in my mind which was the key in my understanding of why this entire connection of cycles makes sense. It was, "Why do we only see one side of the moon?" When examining this question, one will realize that during the point where the moon orbits the earth, the lit up side of the moon never changes. During a new moon, the entire side of the moon that we usually see is now unnoticed due to the moons position between the earth and the sun. Concepts such as these will be very hard to relate to, but can be made possible through many visual aids and demonstrations.
I don't think that the key question is about the revolution of the moon. I think the key question is why we can see the full moon when the earth is between the sun and the moon.
Opportunities to Learn:
Demonstrating the interrelationships between the earth, moon, and sun can be done using a flashlight, and two softball sized balls. Keeping the flashlight in the same place while positioning the two other balls in different areas will mimic the actual scenario in our solar system. This setup will give the observer a vantage point at a random place in space. It would serve to demonstrate how the objects move with respect to each other. To get an earthly vantage point, the light would remain in the same place, with the ball (moon) rotating around a student (earth). This would provide the student with a vantage point of what the moon would look like from earth.
I did not see these in the engagement section of the previous lesson.
In these activities, students have the opportunity to participate, which will provide a stronger relationship with the material. Hands on activities have been proven to promote learning better than through lecturing. For those students who have trouble understanding these topics, it might help them to pay attention to the websites individually on a separate computer, or to have a separate worksheet with various pictures of moon, earth, sun orientations that need to be identified with moon phases. A teacher's aide or a special education teacher could provide constant help for those students that are having trouble.
There is also a second and third part of the Bill Nye moon phase video which will be used to finish the class. Showing the video will depend upon how much time there is left in the class. If we run out of time, we can view the video tomorrow before the quiz. This will provide more visual stimulation for the topic. It is also a video that students seem to enjoy and relate to. There is also a great deal of information that is utilized in a hands on manner that can create connections in the students' minds.
To prepare for this lesson, I will need:
the corrected phase flip books from last class.
access to a computer for the video clips
access to a television and tape player for the Bill Nye videos (You tube is probably not copyrighted)
2 softball shaped balls
1 basketball
flashlight
Objectives:
Explore effects of light on a ball to signify the sun's light on the moon.
Solidify comprehension of the interrelationships between the sun, earth and moon through: demonstrations, video clips, video.
Clear any confusion and false assumptions about the interrelationships between the sun, earth and moon.
The demonstrations can be used to explore two things:
The model of the sun, earth and moon as an interstellar bystander. This can be accomplished through the use of the light source (sun), the 1st ball (earth) and the 2nd ball (moon). This demonstration will show how the light reflects on 1/2 of both balls, and will demonstrate the concept that 1/2 of the moon is always lit by the sun, just as the earth is.
The model the sun, earth and moon as seen from earth. This will keep the vantage point the same for the viewer and will demonstrate how the reflected light on the moon can only be partially seen depending on your angle of view.
Another aspect to consider is exploring how the rotation of the moon coordinates with only one side of it being lit up/ viewable. This can be accomplished by coloring one half of the ball, and rotating it as it orbits the other ball.
Opening (10-15% of lesson):
"So, does anyone know why we have phases on the moon?"
"Why do we only see one side of it?"
"Why does the moon seem to rise, set, and be in different phases, and show it self at random times?"
"Why do we see a full moon when the earth is in between the moon and the sun?"
"What effect does the light from the sun have on the moon and its phases?"
Questions like these can hopefully spark some interest and discussion. It can also bring to surface any misconceptions the students have about the topic. Showing some of the video clips from the previous class will activate their knowledge and provide some information that the students can use to help them with exploring answers to the questions. I can also show various pictures of the moon in its various phases, and point out that all of the pictures compose of the same surface area of the moon (we only see one side), and that the darkened area of the moon is the area that we will never see. "What causes us to see only one side?"
Engagement (60-70% of lesson):
Once engaging in some discussion, and activating some prior knowledge in the process, the class can begin to develop the demonstrations. First, determining what we need to make our model is important. "So what makes up our model? What do we need?" The light source is the sun, and the two balls are the earth and the moon.
"Why do we keep the light source in one place?" We can then place the moon in different positions around the earth and observe what the phase looks like. We can keep doing this until all of the phases are accounted for and the students understand the concept.
"Why do we only see one side of the moon?" We can demonstrate and answer this question by coloring one half of the moon ball.
Using the half colored ball, we can rotate it a quarter of the way around the other ball (earth), showing that the colored half is now in the line of sight from the earth vantage point. "So, from this example, why do we only see one side?" To ensure that students comprehend the concept, asking similar questions to multiple students throughout the lesson can hopefully provide some understanding through repetition. It will also allow various students to answer questions. "Where would the moon have to be in the model in order for us on earth to see a waxing gibbous phase?" Questions like these that cover all phases of the moon can cover a lot of ground for the topic. If the students have trouble connecting all of the information to answer such a question, then some leading questions are necessary:
"What does waxing mean?"
"What is a gibbous moon, and what does it look like?"
"What does a waxing gibbous moon look like?"
"Which side of the moon has the shadow in a waxing gibbous moon?"
"Now, where in its orbit would the moon have to be in order for it to appear this way from an earth viewpoint?"
Students will be encouraged to use their calendars, and flip books to aid in their understanding. Many different varieties of questions can be asked due to the varying phases of the moon, and the leading questions can be utilized for each of the main questions when probing the students' understanding. Hopefully, they will recognize that the answers to the questions are not so difficult if they follow the same questioning process.
Closure (20-25% of lesson):
A continuation of the questions from the engagement portion of the lesson will compose most of the closing since I am trying to formatively assess the students progress and understanding of the concepts. I need to make sure that the students comprehend the interrelationships of the sun, moon and earth. If I feel that the students are stagnant, then I will use the final five minutes of class to show the second part of the Bill Nye video to hopefully visually stimulate the students comprehension. The second part of the video also includes information on eclipses, which we will discuss tomorrow. The video is good in that throughout its duration, it frequently revisits information pertinent to understanding the main theme. For example, different models are used throughout the video to portray the causes of the moon phases. In some instances more information is added to the model to explain how an eclipse is formed. Before showing the video, I will need to have an idea of where the students are in terms of comprehending answers to these questions:
"So, does anyone know why we have phases on the moon?"
"Why do we only see one side of it?"
"Why does the moon seem to rise, set, and be in different phases, and show it self at random times?"
The questions will be repeated again, and based upon the responses from various students, I will hopefully be able to assess their progress.
Assessment:
There is no summative assessment for the duration of this lesson. The summative assessment will be taken from the homework that is to be collected tomorrow. The demonstrations and the constant probing questions associated with them will provide enough formative assessment opportunities to allow me the opportunity to judge the improvement of the students throughout the lesson. For homework, I will ask that the students go outside and draw a picture of the moon in its phase. It will be graded on the following criteria:
An accurate drawing of the moon in its phase.
A label of its phase (ex: waxing crescent)
Notation of whether this phase indicates if the moon is in the beginning, middle or the end of its lunar cycle. How can you tell?
This assignment will be graded and handed back before our test on friday.
Title:
Moon phasesGLEs/GSEs:
National Science Education Standards- Teachers of science plan an inquiry-based science program for their students.
- Teachers of science guide and facilitate learning.
- Teachers of science engage in ongoing assessment of their teaching and of student learning.
- Teachers of science design and manage learning environments that provide students with the time, space, and resources needed for learning science.
RI Middle School GSEs Earth and Space ScienceESS2: The earth is part of a solar system, made up of distinctive parts that have temporal and spatial interrelationships.
8- Systems and Energy/ Patterns of Change
Explain temporal or positional relationships between or among the Earth, sun, moon (e.g. night/day, seasons, year, tides) or how gravitational force affects objects in the solar system (e.g. moons, tides, orbits, satellites).
Students demonstrate an understanding of temporal or positional relationships between or among the Earth, sun, and moon by:
a) Using models to describe the relative motion/ position of the Earth, sun and moon.
b) Using a model of the Earth, sun and moon to recreate the phases of the moon.
Performance Standards for Science (Gathered from Grade 6 CCMS- Lynn Arcand)
Science Concepts:The student demonstrates conceptual understanding by using a concept accurately to explain observations and make predictions by representing the concept in multiple ways (through words, diagrams, graphs or charts, as appropriate). Both aspects of understanding -explaining and representing- are required to meet this standard.
Standard 3: Earth and Space Sciences Concepts:
S3c: Understanding of: Earth in the Solar System, such as the predictable motion of planets, moons and other objects in the Solar System including days, years, moon phases and eclipses.
Context for the Lesson:
The purpose of this lesson is to explain how the reflected light of the Sun on the Moon creates the different phases of the Moon. There will be a demonstration in class that will examine how a light source lights up one side of the earth and moon at all times. Depending upon where one positions themselves, they will get varying views of the moon and earth. The varying views will provide a vantage point where one will notice only part of the moon lit. The class will have to utilize their previous knowledge and apply it to this demonstration in order to comprehend the phase change process. I feel like it is a very difficult concept to grasp: how the moon's phases change. Since the moon orbits the earth once a day, and the earth orbits the sun there is a lot of movement involved. Add in the rotation of these objects and the concepts can become very difficult to understand. This is why I think that this concept will need and adequate foundation of relevant knowledge about the relationships of the earth, moon, and sun before examining could begin. A question arises in my mind which was the key in my understanding of why this entire connection of cycles makes sense. It was, "Why do we only see one side of the moon?" When examining this question, one will realize that during the point where the moon orbits the earth, the lit up side of the moon never changes. During a new moon, the entire side of the moon that we usually see is now unnoticed due to the moons position between the earth and the sun. Concepts such as these will be very hard to relate to, but can be made possible through many visual aids and demonstrations.I don't think that the key question is about the revolution of the moon. I think the key question is why we can see the full moon when the earth is between the sun and the moon.
Opportunities to Learn:
Demonstrating the interrelationships between the earth, moon, and sun can be done using a flashlight, and two softball sized balls. Keeping the flashlight in the same place while positioning the two other balls in different areas will mimic the actual scenario in our solar system. This setup will give the observer a vantage point at a random place in space. It would serve to demonstrate how the objects move with respect to each other. To get an earthly vantage point, the light would remain in the same place, with the ball (moon) rotating around a student (earth). This would provide the student with a vantage point of what the moon would look like from earth.Utilization of the video clips from the previous class would be helpful again in providing an organized visual aid to complement our demonstration. The clips are here:
http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/java/MoonPhase.html
http://www.noao.edu/education/phases/phases_demo.html
http://mistupid.com/astronomy/moonphase.htm
http://www.sqooltools.com/edvideos/sciencevideos/billnye/moonindex.html
I did not see these in the engagement section of the previous lesson.
In these activities, students have the opportunity to participate, which will provide a stronger relationship with the material. Hands on activities have been proven to promote learning better than through lecturing. For those students who have trouble understanding these topics, it might help them to pay attention to the websites individually on a separate computer, or to have a separate worksheet with various pictures of moon, earth, sun orientations that need to be identified with moon phases. A teacher's aide or a special education teacher could provide constant help for those students that are having trouble.
There is also a second and third part of the Bill Nye moon phase video which will be used to finish the class. Showing the video will depend upon how much time there is left in the class. If we run out of time, we can view the video tomorrow before the quiz. This will provide more visual stimulation for the topic. It is also a video that students seem to enjoy and relate to. There is also a great deal of information that is utilized in a hands on manner that can create connections in the students' minds.
To prepare for this lesson, I will need:
Objectives:
The demonstrations can be used to explore two things:
- The model of the sun, earth and moon as an interstellar bystander. This can be accomplished through the use of the light source (sun), the 1st ball (earth) and the 2nd ball (moon). This demonstration will show how the light reflects on 1/2 of both balls, and will demonstrate the concept that 1/2 of the moon is always lit by the sun, just as the earth is.
- The model the sun, earth and moon as seen from earth. This will keep the vantage point the same for the viewer and will demonstrate how the reflected light on the moon can only be partially seen depending on your angle of view.
Another aspect to consider is exploring how the rotation of the moon coordinates with only one side of it being lit up/ viewable. This can be accomplished by coloring one half of the ball, and rotating it as it orbits the other ball.Opening (10-15% of lesson):
- "So, does anyone know why we have phases on the moon?"
- "Why do we only see one side of it?"
- "Why does the moon seem to rise, set, and be in different phases, and show it self at random times?"
- "Why do we see a full moon when the earth is in between the moon and the sun?"
- "What effect does the light from the sun have on the moon and its phases?"
Questions like these can hopefully spark some interest and discussion. It can also bring to surface any misconceptions the students have about the topic. Showing some of the video clips from the previous class will activate their knowledge and provide some information that the students can use to help them with exploring answers to the questions. I can also show various pictures of the moon in its various phases, and point out that all of the pictures compose of the same surface area of the moon (we only see one side), and that the darkened area of the moon is the area that we will never see. "What causes us to see only one side?"Engagement (60-70% of lesson):
Once engaging in some discussion, and activating some prior knowledge in the process, the class can begin to develop the demonstrations. First, determining what we need to make our model is important. "So what makes up our model? What do we need?" The light source is the sun, and the two balls are the earth and the moon.Using the half colored ball, we can rotate it a quarter of the way around the other ball (earth), showing that the colored half is now in the line of sight from the earth vantage point. "So, from this example, why do we only see one side?" To ensure that students comprehend the concept, asking similar questions to multiple students throughout the lesson can hopefully provide some understanding through repetition. It will also allow various students to answer questions. "Where would the moon have to be in the model in order for us on earth to see a waxing gibbous phase?" Questions like these that cover all phases of the moon can cover a lot of ground for the topic. If the students have trouble connecting all of the information to answer such a question, then some leading questions are necessary:
- "What does waxing mean?"
- "What is a gibbous moon, and what does it look like?"
- "What does a waxing gibbous moon look like?"
- "Which side of the moon has the shadow in a waxing gibbous moon?"
- "Now, where in its orbit would the moon have to be in order for it to appear this way from an earth viewpoint?"
Students will be encouraged to use their calendars, and flip books to aid in their understanding. Many different varieties of questions can be asked due to the varying phases of the moon, and the leading questions can be utilized for each of the main questions when probing the students' understanding. Hopefully, they will recognize that the answers to the questions are not so difficult if they follow the same questioning process.Closure (20-25% of lesson):
A continuation of the questions from the engagement portion of the lesson will compose most of the closing since I am trying to formatively assess the students progress and understanding of the concepts. I need to make sure that the students comprehend the interrelationships of the sun, moon and earth. If I feel that the students are stagnant, then I will use the final five minutes of class to show the second part of the Bill Nye video to hopefully visually stimulate the students comprehension. The second part of the video also includes information on eclipses, which we will discuss tomorrow. The video is good in that throughout its duration, it frequently revisits information pertinent to understanding the main theme. For example, different models are used throughout the video to portray the causes of the moon phases. In some instances more information is added to the model to explain how an eclipse is formed. Before showing the video, I will need to have an idea of where the students are in terms of comprehending answers to these questions:- "So, does anyone know why we have phases on the moon?"
- "Why do we only see one side of it?"
- "Why does the moon seem to rise, set, and be in different phases, and show it self at random times?"
The questions will be repeated again, and based upon the responses from various students, I will hopefully be able to assess their progress.Assessment:
There is no summative assessment for the duration of this lesson. The summative assessment will be taken from the homework that is to be collected tomorrow. The demonstrations and the constant probing questions associated with them will provide enough formative assessment opportunities to allow me the opportunity to judge the improvement of the students throughout the lesson. For homework, I will ask that the students go outside and draw a picture of the moon in its phase. It will be graded on the following criteria:- An accurate drawing of the moon in its phase.
- A label of its phase (ex: waxing crescent)
- Notation of whether this phase indicates if the moon is in the beginning, middle or the end of its lunar cycle. How can you tell?
This assignment will be graded and handed back before our test on friday.